Hook, line & stinker: The menus said snapper. But it wasn’t!

Hook, line & stinker: The menus said snapper. But it wasn’t!

By Janet Rausa Fuller
Chicago Sun-Times
May 10, 2007

The sushi menus said red snapper, a fish prized for its flavor — and priced accordingly.

But a Sun-Times investigation found good reason to question whether diners are getting what’s promised.

The newspaper had DNA tests done on sushi described as red snapper or “Japanese red snapper” bought from 14 restaurants in the city and suburbs. Not a single one was really red snapper.

In most cases, the red-tinged flesh draped across the small mound of rice was tilapia — a cheap substitute. Nine of the 14 samples were tilapia. Four were red sea bream — nearly as pricey but still not red snapper.

“It’s misbranding, and it’s fraud,” said Spring Randolph of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which oversees labeling of seafood.

And there’s ample reason to believe diners around the country similarly are being taken in, the Sun-Times found:

– Some restaurant owners said that when they order red snapper, their suppliers send what the owners acknowledged, after checking, is actually tilapia. And most sushi fish in the United States comes from just a handful of suppliers.

– There’s little government oversight. Generally, that’s left to the FDA. Though the agency tries to investigate complaints, “We are not directly going out looking for species substitution,” Randolph said.

– Another FDA official said: “From the reports that we have received, there has been an increase in species substitution. It is a problem.”

Popularity leads to overfishing

Three years ago, prompted in part by concerns over mislabeled tilapia, the Japanese government called on retailers to accurately label fish.

In the United States, the Congressional Research Service — Congress’ research arm — issued a report last month citing a government survey that found 37 percent of fish examined by the National Marine Fisheries Service were mislabeled. A separate survey by the Fisheries Service found a whopping 80 percent of red snapper was mislabeled.

With red snapper, there’s incentive to cheat. It brings a good price. And the fish — found largely in the western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico — has become so popular that it’s overfished, making it harder to find. As a result, it’s among the most commonly “substituted” fish, according to the FDA.

There are roughly 250 snapper species worldwide. Under federal law, just one can be sold as red snapper — the one known to scientists as Lutjanus campechanus.

Whole red snapper sells for $9 a pound, or more, retail. Tilapia sells for half that. But restaurant owners said they’re not trying to mislead customers.

At Chi Tung, 9560 S. Kedzie, owner Jinny Zhao reacted to being told the sushi she sells as red snapper is really tilapia by insisting that couldn’t be.

“Of course, it’s red snapper,” Zhao said. “If we order red snapper, we have to get red snapper.”

But it really was tilapia, the tests showed. Told that, manager Ten Smith said he’d noticed that the label read tilapia but didn’t think much of it. He said, “The vendor recommends this [tilapia] fillet.”

Japanese Food Corporation, a major supplier with an office in Hanover Park, provides sushi fish to at least three restaurants in the Sun-Times survey. A spokeswoman said she couldn’t say whether the restaurants ask for red snapper, only that the company sells — and properly labels — tilapia as izumidai. “We don’t call it red snapper,” she said.

$2,000 fine

True World Foods, another major supplier, provides sushi fish to at least four of the restaurants surveyed. No one from the company, which has headquarters in New Jersey and an office in Elk Grove Village, returned calls for comment.

Zhao, the owner of Chi Tung, said her restaurant buys fish from True World. She said she called the company about the test results: “They said they gave us red snapper.”

At Renga Tei in Lincolnwood, the red snapper sushi turned out to be red sea bream. Chef and owner Hisao Yamada said he pays $11.50 to $11.95 a pound for sea bream. It’s a highly regarded fish. So why not call it sea bream? “Most American customers don’t know the name sea bream,” Yamada said.

A day later, Hepler dropped the item, saying, “I don’t believe in overfishing and killing out a species or being sold something that I thought was something other than it really is.”

“It’s a concern that no restaurant seems to be offering the right fish,” said Bill McCaffrey, spokesman for Chicago’s Department of Consumer Services. “It suggests that this is an accepted industry practice.”

In Chicago, mislabeling fish is punishable by fines of up to $2,000. McCaffrey said he didn’t know of any restaurants being cited for fish fraud.

John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, the seafood industry’s main trade group, said substituting fish is like buying a cheap knockoff of a designer product.

“It’s fraud, and it should be stopped,” said Connelly. “If a person has a certain experience with a lower-end fish and they think it’s a higher-end fish, then their view of the higher-end fish may not be as positive.”

jfuller@suntimes.com

WHAT THE DNA TESTS FOUND

Bluefin, 1952 W. North

What we ordered: Red snapper

DNA result: Tilapia

Explanation: General manager said he didn’t know that what he orders is tilapia and, as a result, changed menu to say: “Izumidai (Tilapia).”

Chi Tung, 9560 S. Kedzie

What we ordered: Red snapper

DNA result: Tilapia

Explanation: Owner said she trusts her supplier, insisting: “Of course, it’s red snapper. If we order red snapper, we have to get red snapper.”